


Alternate

by Jcapasso916



Category: Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-12
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-26 08:20:30
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6231220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jcapasso916/pseuds/Jcapasso916
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a heated argument Sam and Dean wish they had never met Gabriel. Gabriel decides to show them a world where their wish came true and it's far from sunshine and roses. They even return with a passenger in tow.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Gabriel didn’t know why he still stopped by the bunker every few weeks. Ever since Metatron had resurrected him, he had been showing up to annoy the Winchesters every so often. As the only beings alive, other than Castiel, that knew who and what he was, he just wanted to be near them sometimes. To be able to be real and not have to worry about watching what he said or did lest someone figure out his secret identity. It didn’t really make up for the insults and hateful looks and threats he got when he did so, but it was better than nothing, and it’s not like they could stop him or harm him. He would see the holy oil coming a mile away if they ever tried it, though he was sure they wouldn’t go that far without some serious provocation. He was the last archangel after all. And the only one they could possibly count on for help if things went pear shaped again. 

It had been five years since he had been resurrected when things finally reached their breaking point. It had just been a harmless prank that set it all off. Who could have known that they would react so badly to a jello filled inflatable sheep exploding in the library? Before Gabriel could even pinpoint the progression they ended up in a screaming fight with Dean holding a holy oil Molotov and Sam wishing they’d never met him. Gabriel was just angry enough to lash out and show them what would have happened if they’d gotten their wish in an attempt to earn a modicum of respect from the hunters. 

Gabriel snapped his fingers and they were suddenly standing in a deserted street, fires burning all around and a large gothic castle in the distance. Dean was no longer holding the holy oil Molotov as they looked around in shock for a moment before they both rounded on Gabriel. “What the hell Gabriel? Take us back!” Dean roared. 

“No. You said you wished you never met me. This is the world if your wish came true,” he said stone-faced.

“What are you talking about?” Sam asked incredulously. 

“There are an infinite number of alternate realities, based off of every decision every person makes. The little things like what to eat for breakfast rarely create one, but most decisions will create an alternate reality for each decision you could make. This reality is based on my decision to get involved with you two. In this reality I never met you at that college. Mystery spot, tv land, elysian fields, none of it ever happened.”

“And that was enough to cause this? Where the hell are we anyway?” Sam asked in disbelief. 

“This used to be Washington D.C. And that,” he pointed at the castle, “used to be the white house.”

“So what happened?” Dean asked suspiciously. 

“Come on. Let’s have a little show and tell. Don’t worry. Nothing can see us,” Gabriel said as he started walking towards the castle. 

“Are we seriously walking all the way there?” Sam asked annoyed. 

“There’s plenty you need to see on the way.”

It was only a few blocks before they saw a large fenced in lot filled with people milling around naked. “What…what’s that?” Dean asked feeling a little nauseous. 

“Those are humans. They are slaves and cattle here. Some think that the lucky ones are the ones who become slaves, but really the ones that become meals are luckier.” Gabriel stopped and watched with little amusement as they tried to free the people, but their bodies just passed through everything like it wasn’t there. “You can’t touch anything either. You can’t interact with this world at all,” he pointed out. They tried uselessly for a while longer before they gave up and followed Gabriel somberly. 

A few more blocks and they saw humans carrying stones and bricks nearly as large as them, with demons, not even attempting to hide their black eyes, standing over them, literally cracking whips on a whim. Sometimes when the person was moving too slow, or dropped something, or stumbled, sometimes for no offense at all. They laughed with every strike of the whip. “They are building a statue of the emperor and his court,” Gabriel explained, secretly glad that they hadn’t gotten to any faces yet. Let that be a surprise when they reached the castle. 

Sam turned his head away, unable to watch the spectacle that they could do nothing about. Dean took the opposite road, glaring heatedly at the demons and wishing that he could kill them all. A few more blocks and they came across a sight that Gabriel was the one who couldn’t look at. “An angel,” he choked out. “They are hunted for sport in this world, and are nearly extinct. This one has been up there for years. Bound by those cuffs. They thought it amusing to crucify her as Christ was crucified, but her grace keeps the body alive forever, though that’s all it can do as long as those cuffs stay on.”

“You can’t do anything either?” Dean asked feeling sorry for the angel and realizing that maybe Gabriel was as powerless as they were. 

“It wouldn’t matter. If it weren’t her it would be another and fully materializing in an alternate reality takes a lot of power. I can’t fight them all alone and there is no one left to help me.”

“If you free the people they would help,” Dean protested. 

“No. They would be slaughtered. There are more demons than humans even if I could free all the humans in the world at once, it would never make a dent and they have spies everywhere. They would sense me the minute I fully materialized and set an entire army on me.”

“But I thought Lucifer wanted to kill all the demons. Why would he let there be so many?” Sam asked confused. 

“Lucifer isn’t in control. He is long dead. As are Michael and Raphael and most other angels.”

“Cas?” Dean asked fearfully. 

“Was among the first to fall,” Gabriel said sadly. 

“You didn’t mention you being dead?” Sam questioned. 

“I might as well be,” Gabriel said in a tone that signaled the end of that discussion. 

“Then who’s in charge?” Sam asked. 

“You’ll see. We’re nearly there,” Gabriel said as he continued leading the way to the castle. 

As they reached the courtyard, they saw demons leading humans around on leashes. You could see all of their ribs, and none of them were wearing any clothing. It seemed that was the easiest way to distinguish humans from demons in this world…most of the time, Sam realized as he looked around and would have retched if he were corporeal as he saw a group of demons brutally raping one of the slaves. It was hard to tell with as small and skinny as everyone was here, but she seemed to be a young girl. She didn’t look any older than ten years old and no one batted an eye. Not even the other slaves milling around gave it more than a passing glance. 

They entered the castle and began walking down the winding hallways. It seemed that the slaves inside weren’t on leashes as the bustled by carrying trays of food that they wouldn’t get to eat, or baskets of laundry that they wouldn’t get to wear, or cleaning supplies. At a cursory glance it was hard to tell where the dirt ended and the bruises began on most of them. They all had whip marks covering their backs. 

They stopped to watch a demon thrust a crying baby into a woman’s arms. “Feed it,” the demon growled. “If it dies then you will be tortured, first until you die, and then forever in hell.”

“Why…” Dean started.

“Does he care?” Gabriel finished. “Because they will always need new slaves. They have to threaten because many mothers feel that it would be better for their child to die before they know this world. Some let them die anyway and take the punishment, but most are deterred,” Gabriel explained as they watched the woman put the baby to her breast as tears flowed from her eyes and she muttered apologies to the baby in her arms. She at least looked to be better fed than most of the slaves, but if they wanted healthy babies it was to be expected. She was chained to the wall though and not able to roam freely. There was a small box next to her presumably where the baby slept. 

They continued down the hallways and saw another woman lying in the hall. She was obviously pregnant, and blood was pooling between her legs. A demon walked down the hall dragging another being in chains, with familiar looking cuffs on his arms. One of the cuffs was removed and the demon held an angel blade to its neck and barked, “heal them.”

The captive angel turned dead eyes to the woman and reached out his free hand to her forehead and the bleeding stopped. The second the angel pulled his hand away the cuff was slapped back on and he was led away, the sound of the chains echoing through the hallway behind them. Sam was so completely done with this world. “I’ve seen enough Gabriel. Take us back. Please.”

“No. There’s more you need to see,” Gabriel said firmly. They wished they had never met him so they needed to see what that wish would lead to. What had happened to them without Gabriel’s interference. “Almost there now.”

Gabriel led them down a few more hallways and through the large open double doors and both hunters stopped dead in their tracks. Sam couldn’t take his eyes off the figure on the throne that was like looking in a fun house mirror. Dean to the figure standing rigidly next to him, with the same feeling. “What the hell is this?” Dean gasped out, first to regain his voice.


	2. Chapter 2

“How could this happen?” Sam breathed out as he watched his counterpart hold out a golden chalice to a demon who slit his wrist and filled it with his blood. That action alone told him that he wasn’t possessed here. 

“I had thought that I hadn’t gotten through to you at all at Mystery Spot, but apparently something stuck, even if it wasn’t as much as I intended. In this world, you never got that lesson, and when Dean was taken to hell for his deal, you went off the deep end even more than you did in our world. You took up your intended position as the boy king intending to break Dean out, but you were kept away from him for decades, hell time of course. Until the power of the throne had completely corrupted you. Then they finally let you see your brother.”

“I didn’t…tell me I didn’t…” Sam choked out. 

“You did not lay hand nor blade on your brother. Even you couldn’t go that far. You talked to him though. And your words were the final straw that broke him. He took Alastair’s deal and started torturing souls. You had him keep at it until he was lost. He became a demon and as soon as the last trace of humanity fled him, you made him your right hand.”

Sam wasn’t sure if that made him feel better or worse. At least he hadn’t tortured his brother. Not physically anyway. He didn’t want to know what he said to him. “But the angels would have tried to rescue him.” 

“They did try, but with the throne of hell claimed and the demons united, they faced a far stronger and more organized resistance than they could have anticipated and they were slaughtered, which had the added disadvantage of the demons getting their hands on a few dozen angel blades.”

“But the archangels…” Dean trailed off. 

“You had the idea to use Lucifer. You went into the cage, bound him, and tortured him for years, until he gave up his archangel blade and you killed him with it before taking your armies after Michael and Raphael.”

“Stop saying it was me. It wasn’t me. That is not me,” Dean said heatedly. 

“Ok fine. The other Dean. This world’s Dean. Whatever. Once the archangels were out of the way, ‘he’ laid siege to heaven. Those that escaped are hiding here on earth and are hunted, as I mentioned.”

“And what about you? What were you doing while all this was going down?” Dean asked accusingly. “Where are you now?”

Gabriel grit his teeth and snapped his fingers. They appeared in an alley where they barely recognized Gabriel, he was so dirty and…just broken…and quite drunk if the stench and his insane rambling was anything to go by. “I talk to him sometimes in his more lucid moments. He’s the only one who can see me and only if I let him.”

“Why would you do that?” Sam asked looking at the broken archangel with pity. 

“I had to understand how this happened. How it got so bad. Most of what I’ve already told you, I found out through other means, but everything that happened to me, I got directly from him.”

“So…um…what did happen?” Sam asked curiously, not sure if he wanted to open that can of worms, but not being able to help himself. 

“I was unaware of what was going on until after the siege of heaven. After that I tried to round up the survivors, but the gathering of us all in one place sent up a beacon to the demons and we were attacked by hundreds of demons, Dean at the helm. Five of them were slaughtered before the rest scattered. After that, they realized there was still an archangel alive, but I was being watched carefully. I didn’t know that at the time though. I thought I had given them the slip.”

“Why didn’t they just kill you?” Dean asked. 

“Same reason you haven’t,” Gabriel said bitterly. “You never know what you might need an archangel for, and why kill me when they can break me.”

Neither of them liked the comparison to their alter egos, but neither of them could deny the truth of that statement, well except for the part about breaking him, so they just kept their mouths shut. “So what happened after that?” Sam coaxed. 

“I didn’t dare go near any other angels fearing that the combination of power would draw the demons in again, so I tried going about things another way. By this time, they had started rounding up humans, killing the ones who fought back and taking the rest. I gathered as many as I could to try and protect them, maybe even organize a resistance, but that’s when I realized that I was being watched as it wasn’t long before they came. I was bound and chained and forced to watch as they slaughtered every human in the compound. Children included. And not slowly either. There were only about fifty of them, but they dragged it out for weeks and then unbound me and left.”

“They are still watching?” Sam asked. 

“Yeah. They find it amusing to see me like this I think. As long as I keep to myself they leave me alone though. I tried a couple more times to help people only to watch them tortured and killed for it too, so I gave up. This is my life now,” he gestured to the pitiful thing lying in the alley. “What’s left of it. They won’t kill me and I’m too much of a coward to do it myself, so this is all I have.” 

“You said something about getting through to me at Mystery Spot. What did you mean?” Sam asked trying to change the subject, not wanting to think any more about the fate of the last archangel. 

“You still don’t get it?” Gabriel asked incredulously. “Didn’t you listen to a word I said?”

“Not…really…” Sam said sheepishly. At the time all he wanted was his brother back. 

“I was trying to teach you to let go. To deal with his death like a normal person instead of flying off the rails.”

“Oh,” was all Sam could say to that. Even Dean had to admit that it may have been justified. 

“So you were never going to leave me dead?” He asked. 

“Of course not. Just until Sam learned his lesson, then you would have gone back to that Wednesday with no memory of dying.”

“What about my memory?” Sam asked disgruntled. 

“You had to remember the lesson. There was no reason for him to remember,” Gabriel pointed out. 

“But you caved…why?” Sam asked. 

“Because I was weak. I couldn’t stand seeing you like that anymore. I realized that you were never going to learn and that it had crossed the line from lesson and gone on to torture. It had to end,” Gabriel looked away from both them and the other version of himself.

“But I still released Lucifer,” Sam said apologetically. 

“But being here reminds me that it could have been worse. Even if everything had happened like it was meant to, this is still worse.”

“Why were you trying to get us to say yes then?” Dean asked. 

Gabriel couldn’t resist the urge to roll his eyes. “That was never about you saying yes. I mean, come on. You had all of heaven and hell after you to say yes. Why on earth would you listen to me?”

“Then what…” Sam trailed off in confusion. 

“You were tucked in this nice little dimension out of the reach of everyone, heaven and hell alike, while I tried to find a way to stop it.”

“Cas found us,” Dean pointed out. 

At the same time Sam said, “But you said it couldn’t be stopped.”

“Cas found you because he was bound to you by that little handprint. I said it couldn’t be stopped, because as long as you were out there they would get you to say yes eventually, and I was no closer to finding a way to stop it.”

They were jolted out of the conversation by a bottle breaking that the other Gabriel had apparently thrown against the wall and the turned to him just in time to see him snap his fingers and create another full bottle and drain half of it in one go. “We can’t just leave him like this,” Sam said. He was beginning to form an idea and realized that if he was going to save anything from this nightmarish world, this was his only shot. 

“What do you suggest? Killing him?” Gabriel asked. 

“No. Of course not,” Sam protested, glaring at Dean before he could make a snarky comment along the lines of at least they’d get to kill one of him. “Why can’t we bring him back with us?”

“Do what?!” Dean asked incredulously. One Gabriel was bad enough and Sam wanted to bring another? Was he crazy?

“Huh,” Gabriel said thoughtfully. “I hadn’t considered that. He would be the only being that could materialize in another reality and it would be better than leaving him here. Maybe I could fix him. Oooh. It’d be like having a pet me,” he said cheerfully. 

“Oh no. I don’t think so. If anyone gets to fix him, it’s us. We don’t need you influencing him,” Dean said sternly. 

“He’s me. That makes him mine,” Gabriel protested. 

“Can we stop talking like he’s a pet or a possession?” Sam asked frustrated. It was too reminiscent of how things were here and it was getting to him. “How about we all work together to ‘help’ him?”

“That means that he’ll be around all the time,” Dean whined. 

“Well you both have a point. Gabriel would be best equipped to help him since he is him, but hopefully we can have some influence as well and keep him from being as…um…boisterous…as our Gabriel,” Sam said with a note of finality. 

“Before anything is decided, I have to ask,” Gabriel started, remembering why they were there in the first place, “Do you still hate me and wish you’d never met me?”

“No,” Sam said firmly at the same time as Dean said, “Kinda.” 

Sam glared at his brother and who sighed and amended his answer. “Ok no. Not really. But it’s really become habit now.”

Gabriel was the one to glare at him this time. “Break it,” he ordered and Dean reluctantly nodded. It wasn’t like he could really hate the archangel anymore. Not now that he knew that all the things that he was holding grudges over were meant to help them. Not now that he had seen where they would end up without him. He had to admit…grudgingly…that Gabriel had done right by them overall, even if he was still annoying and childish. 

“Good. Now that’s settled, taking him back is going to knock him out for at least a few days. Like I said, materializing in another reality takes a lot of power and while I can do it without too much difficulty, he’s broken.”

Sam started getting the suspicion that he meant more than just the other Gabriel’s mind and spirit, but that was a question for another day.


	3. Chapter 3

They appeared back on the street outside the bunker, Gabriel being unable to fly in or out due to the wards, and walked inside, Gabriel carrying his counterpart. Sam led them to an unused room next to his, knowing that most of the care was going to fall to him, Dean and Gabriel not having the patience for it. Not to say that they didn’t care…well Gabriel cared. He still wasn’t really sure about Dean. Not to mention that they knew that Dean had slaughtered people in front of him. Probably not the best face to wake up to. As far as any of them knew, the other Gabriel hadn’t had any interaction with Sam. 

When Sam kept getting things turned around in his head, he turned to their Gabriel and said, “What are we going to call him? Two Gabriels is going to get confusing.”

“Good point. I’m sure he would rather go by Loki, and on the off chance he wouldn’t, I’ll take Loki and he can have Gabriel.”

“I was thinking more like Gabriel and Gabe or something,” Sam said, not wanting to call either of them Loki as it would bring up too many bad memories for him. “Or do you have middle names?”

Gabriel laughed. “No. No middle names. I guess I’ll take Gabe. Probably shouldn’t throw too many changes at him all at once.” Gabriel laid him down in the bed and snapped his fingers to clean him up and sober him up. “It’ll be jarring enough to wake up sober,” he said amused pulling hesitant chuckles from both brothers. 

They quickly worked out a rotation. Gabe would sit with Gabriel overnight while the others were asleep and otherwise kept his distance from the hunters and Dean would only sit with him while Sam was showering or using the bathroom or getting another book from the library. None of them really wanted Dean’s face to be the first thing Gabriel saw when he woke up, but he shouldn’t wake up alone either. Gabe was nice enough to snap up a comfortable recliner in the room for them to relax in while they waited. He also left instructions to call for him when Gabriel woke up. He knew that his counterpart would need a lot of explanations and he was best equipped to give them.

It was three days later when Sam noticed Gabriel starting to stir. He leaned over him just as the archangel opened his eyes. He suddenly found himself knocked on the floor as Gabriel scrambled out the door. Sam cursed and prayed for Gabe to come quick. Gabe immediately appeared outside the bunker and started running inside just in time to catch Gabriel at the top of the stairs. He wrapped an arm around his waist and stopped him from running out the door and said, “Whoa buddy. It’s all good.”

Sam came running into the control room just in time to hear him and sighed with relief. “That little booger is fast,” he said as he started walking towards them. 

Gabriel’s eyes got wide and he started trying to scramble away, but Gabe had a firm grip on his wrist. “Hold up a sec, Sammy,” he said holding out his hand. Sam stopped at the bottom of the stairs and tilted his head thoughtfully looking at the trembling archangel doing his best to hide behind Gabe. Maybe they were wrong about him not having any interactions with Sam in their world. “Maybe I should handle this. Why don’t you make yourself scarce while I explain? Keep your brother away too if you would,” Gabe took control of the situation. 

“Yeah. That’s probably a good idea. We’ll be in either the kitchen or the library.” 

Sam left the room to find Dean and give them some privacy. Almost as soon as he was gone, Gabriel stopped trembling and relaxed a little bit, only to tense up again as Gabe led him back into the bunker. Gabe wasn’t going to risk him going outside the wards and disappearing on them just yet. He pulled his counterpart into the living room and sat him on the couch, taking the chair across from it himself. “Ok first things first. You’re not in your world anymore. I brought you into mine.”

“You’re the me that came to visit sometimes?” Gabriel asked. Gabe nodded. “Why?” 

“Well the main thing you need to know is that this world is a lot different from yours. Sam and Dean are good here. They are still human, and some of the most caring people you’ll ever meet, though Dean is pretty gruff and doesn’t act like it,” he explained and got a hesitant nod from the other archangel. He could tell that he didn’t really believe it yet, but he would see for himself in time. “Long story short, I got in a pretty nasty argument with them and they said they wished they never met me, so I brought them into your world to show them what would have happened if they hadn’t. Let’s just say it was a major eye opener. This place has its faults, but it’s like paradise compared to there. They kept asking what happened to me in that world so I brought them to you. Sam is a pretty quick thinker and figured out that if I could travel between worlds then so could you, and suggested bringing you back with us. He couldn’t stand seeing you like that and wanted to help you.”

“S-sam wanted to h-help me?” Gabriel asked in disbelief. 

“Yeah,” Gabe smiled wryly. “That’s just the way he is. He wants to help everyone. I still think he rescues kittens from trees in his spare time,” he joked. 

“A-and D-dean?” Gabriel asked worriedly. 

“He was less enthusiastic. See he and I don’t get along very well and he can hold a grudge forever, let me tell you, but he agreed that we couldn’t leave you like that. He won’t give you any trouble and will be as nice as he can manage. Like I said, he comes off as a little gruff, but deep down he cares just as much as Sam.” Gabe had no intention of lying to Gabriel. He would tell it like it was and let him deal with the reality as much as possible.

“What is this world like?” he asked. “What’s different?” 

“Well first of all, Sam never took over hell and our brothers were able to rescue Dean before he turned. Sam did go a little nuts over it, just not as bad, but he ended up accidentally releasing Lucifer. With my help they trapped him back in the cage along with Michael, but Lucifer killed me in the process.” He saw Gabriel open his mouth to ask, but cut him off. “I’m getting there. After that the Leviathan were released from purgatory by one of our brothers who meant well, but screwed up. Raphael died in the process, but they got the Leviathan back in purgatory. The next big event was Metatron showing back up.” Gabriel got a nasty look on his face. “Yeah, I know. Real douche. He got his hands on the angel tablet though and used its power to resurrect me to play along with one of his little schemes after he kicked all the angels out of heaven and made them fall. I escaped when he was found and captured by the others. The angels made it back to heaven, though I’m the only one that still has wings. Then the darkness was released.” Gabriel shuddered. “I helped Sam and Dean lock her away again though and since then it’s been pretty quiet as far as the big stuff is concerned.” 

“So no demons on earth, humans are free, angels are safe?”

“Well there are still demons on earth, just not many. Sam and Dean are hunters still in this world and kill or exorcise as many as they can find. And there are still some demons that have gotten their hands on angel blades so I wouldn’t say they are completely safe, but the demons can’t get into heaven, and there aren’t many here on earth so relatively. At least it would be a fair fight and we all know that any angel can beat a demon in a fair fight,” he said with a smug smirk and Gabriel gave his first smile in years. 

“This is the men of letters bunker,” Gabriel said looking around.

“Yeah. It is. You’ve been here before?” Gabe asked curiously. 

Gabriel shuddered. “The emperor. He did tests here. I…I was captured for a while. He…” Gabriel trailed off and Gabe decided not to push. He could imagine what kind of horrors that Gabriel had experienced, and it explained a lot. His reaction to Sam and how broken his grace was. Only Sam could have inflicted that kind of damage. 

“I understand,” he said sympathetically. “Do you want to go meet Sam and Dean? The real Sam and Dean?” That was how Gabe was going to refer to them. This was the world they lived in now and here they were the real ones. 

“O-okay,” Gabriel said nervously. “I-I think I may have…um…hurt Sam when I woke up,” he admitted. 

“It couldn’t have been too bad, and we can fix him up if you did,” Gabe said. Gabriel didn’t look any less afraid though and Gabe knew what the problem was. “He won’t be mad. I promise.” Gabriel nodded and hesitantly followed Gabe to the library.


	4. Chapter 4

Gabriel paused in the doorway, but Gabe just strolled right in and asked, “You okay Sammykins?” 

Sam glared at Gabe for the nickname but Gabe just gave him a pointed look and cut his eyes over to Gabriel and Sam got it. What better way to convince Gabriel that he wasn’t evil than accepting idiotic nicknames? He rolled his eyes and answered the question. “A little sore, but nothing bad.”

Gabe started walking towards him but Gabriel spoke up for the first time in Sam’s presence. “I can.” Both sets of eyes turned to him and he seemed to shrink back a little before he corrected himself. “It’s my fault. Let me?” 

Sam nodded and gave him an encouraging smile and he started walking tentatively towards Sam. Sam decided to stay put and not make any sudden moves. When Gabriel placed a hand on his forehead though, Sam said softly, “It wasn’t your fault you know. You were scared and didn’t understand what was going on. It was a completely understandable reaction.”

Gabriel gave him a nervous smile and scampered back to the doorway. It would be a while before he was comfortable with them and Sam could understand that. Unfortunately, about that time, Dean came up behind him, headed for the library himself, and Gabriel panicked. Sam could have sworn that he flew away if not for the fact that he couldn’t do that in the bunker, but he was suddenly gone, almost faster than his eye could see. 

Gabe gave a little chuckle and headed off into the stacks to find him. Sam glared at Dean, not sure if he had done that on purpose, but Dean just gave a sheepish shrug and sat down, plate in hand and slid the other one over to Sam. Gabe came back, pulling Gabriel behind him and Sam gave Dean a pointed look. Dean suppressed his sigh and said, “Sorry for scaring you,” and actually managed to sound sincere. 

Gabriel gave him a nervous smile and just stood there with his back to the wall watching them. Gabe plopped down in the nearest chair and attempted to start a conversation. Sam and Dean both picked up on the fact that he was trying to make nice for Gabriel’s sake and went along with it. The three of them chatted up a storm for a few hours while Gabriel watched and slowly started to relax, letting it sink in that this wasn’t the Sam and Dean Winchester he knew, but their polar opposites. 

It was getting close to dinnertime by the time that Gabriel made his way over to the table and sat nervously next to Gabe. He didn’t participate much in the conversation, but he got encouraging smiles from all three of them. Even Dean. They moved to the kitchen for dinner and Gabe snapped up a huge dinner for everyone including chocolate cake and milkshakes for him and Gabriel. Gabriel dug in like he had been starving. Sam couldn’t help but wonder how long it had been since the archangel had eaten something sweet. 

After dinner, Gabe stood and said apologetically. “I really do have some work I should be getting too before it gets too late. Will you be okay here?” he asked Gabriel. He would really rather stay, but he had to get this guy out of the way before he snatched up another girl tonight. 

“I-I guess so,” Gabriel stammered. 

“We’ll take good care of him,” Sam promised. 

When Gabe looked pointedly at Dean the older hunter rolled his eyes. “Best behavior. I promise.”

With that Gabe nodded and headed out and Sam turned to Gabriel. “Do you need anything? Is there anything you want to do?” 

Gabriel thought for a minute. He would like to see some of this world. To see with his own eyes that this wasn’t just some cruel trick to make him let down his guard and then yank the rug out from under him. He was pretty tired though. He supposed that moving between worlds, assuming they were telling the truth, had taken more out of him than he thought. “I’m…um…kinda tired.”

“Okay. No problem. I’ll show you back to your room. I don’t think you got a good look at it when you woke up,” Sam said with a smile as he stood and waited for Gabriel to follow him. He didn’t dare touch him for fear of scaring him off. 

When they got to the room Gabriel hesitated in the doorway. “Will you…I mean…Maybe you could…stay for a bit?” 

Sam smiled warmly at him. “Sure.” Sam followed him into the room and sat in the chair as Gabriel sat on the edge of the bed. 

“I said…the other me I mean…”

“We call him Gabe so we don’t get you two confused,” Sam offered. 

“Right. Okay. Gabe said that you don’t get along with him very well,” Gabriel questioned. 

“He’s right. At least he was right. He’s put us through a lot over the years, but our visit to your world proved that he was only ever just trying to help, so I guess things are different now.”

“What did he do?” Gabriel asked desperately. He needed to know what he could have done differently. What he should have done. 

“Well the first time we met wasn’t so bad. I mean yeah, he played stupid pranks and had Dean and I at each other’s throats, but the big issue we had was that he was killing people. We were young and naïve then and the world was still black and white. We couldn’t see that the people he was killing were hurting and killing others so he was actually doing the world a favor. Needless to say, we did our jobs and tried to kill him, thinking he was a simple trickster.”

“Was that at a college in Ohio?” Gabriel asked. 

“Yeah it was. How did you know?” Sam asked curiously. 

“I remember that. I was going to take that job, but then I found out that you two were in the area so I decided not to. I’ve always wondered if things could have turned out differently if I had,” he said sadly. 

Sam wasn’t sure what to say to make him feel better so he just continued with the story. “The next time we met was a few months before Dean’s demon deal was up. He trapped us in a time loop and killed Dean over and over again. Every single day. Hundreds of times. It was a nightmare for me. I don’t even have words for how much it destroyed me every single time. I finally caught him out and he agreed to take us out of the time loop so I woke up the next day…finally…and then Dean died again one more time. I spent months hunting him, intending to destroy him and get my brother back, but when I finally caught up to him. More like he called me to him actually. He disarmed me with just a thought and I knew there was no other way out, so I begged and cried. He kept telling me that he was trying to teach me a lesson, but I didn’t listen, and he finally brought Dean back and everything was set back to the beginning. He says now that he must have gotten through to me at least somewhat or this world would look like yours, but it wasn’t enough. I still released Lucifer.”

“But it could have been worse,” Gabriel said morosely. “That was it. That was all I needed to do,” he whispered almost to himself and Sam could see the tears welling up. 

Sam took a chance and put a hand on the archangel’s shoulder. “From what Gabe said, there had to be a version of him out there that took the opposite road. You can’t blame yourself for that.” Sam was surprised when Gabriel leaned into the touch, but he supposed that he was probably pretty touch starved after everything he had been through. He hadn’t expected the archangel to accept the touch from him though. “Do you mind if I ask you something? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“Go ahead,” Gabriel said uncertainly. 

“Gabe implied that your grace was broken. What happened?” 

“I…um…it was…it was you. The other you I mean. You’re not him, but you look like him…” Gabriel trailed off realizing that he was rambling and took a deep breath before trying again. “He was…well aware of the connection between us. He could have used someone else to torture me, but he knew that only he could destroy me as completely as he did and he…he enjoyed it.”

Sam knew that was all he was going to get out of Gabriel on the subject for the moment and he wasn’t sure he wanted details anyway, but he did have one more question. “Connection between us?” 

Gabriel’s eyes snapped up and got wide. “You…you don’t know?” he asked alarmed. 

“No. I don’t. What do you mean?” Sam asked gently trying to calm him down again. 

“I…I think I want to sleep now,” Gabriel said laying down and closing his eyes trying to avoid the question. 

Sam almost managed to suppress his sigh, but didn’t quite manage it. “Okay, Gabriel. Good night,” he said softly. He wasn’t sure why he reached down to brush a lock of hair from the archangel’s face, but given the smile that pulled from Gabriel, even as he kept his eyes closed, Sam was glad that he did.


	5. Chapter 5

Sam found Dean in the living room watching tv after he left Gabriel. Sam plopped on the couch, still with a thoughtful look on his face. “He okay?” Dean asked, sounding almost concerned. 

“Yeah. He’s sleeping now,” or pretending to sleep, Sam didn’t say. 

“Did you tuck him in all nice and tight,” Dean joked, but without his normal heat. 

“Don’t start,” Sam said impatiently. “We talked a bit. He’s been through a lot.”

“Obviously,” Dean drawled, but dropped the subject and refrained from any further remarks. His heart wasn’t really in it anyway. This Gabriel had never done anything to him and wasn’t a pain to have around. It was the other Gabriel that came with him that Dean had issues with. Granted those issues were less than they had been a week ago, but he still wasn’t exactly fond of the archangel. 

It was a few hours later when they heard the door creak open and Gabe strolled in. “Oh good. You’re still up. How is he?” 

“Sleeping,” Sam said. “Can I talk to you?” He didn’t wait for an answer before grabbing Gabe’s arm and hauling him bodily from the room. 

Gabe allowed it with an amused look on his face and when they reached the library and Sam closed the door behind him Gabe turned to him and said, “What’s up buttercup?” 

“Gabriel said something about a connection between us, but clammed up when I asked for clarification. What do you know about it?” 

“You shouldn’t be pressuring him about stuff like that,” Gabe said affronted. 

“I didn’t. I asked. He clammed up and I let it go. I didn’t push anything and I wouldn’t. That’s why I’m asking you,” Sam said not willing to let the question go. 

“It doesn’t matter and you don’t want to know. Let’s just leave it at that,” Gabe said with a note of finality. 

“Let’s not. I want to know what he meant. What connection do we have?” Sam was unwilling to let it go this time. This Gabriel he could push. 

“Well you’re not going to get an answer so you might as well give up,” Gabe said as he strolled towards the door. Sam tried to block his way, but Gabe wasn’t letting him push him around this time and he just moved Sam to the side and strolled out. As he passed Dean in the living room he called out, “Just shoot a prayer if you need me,” and headed out the door. 

When Sam followed him as far as the living room Dean asked, “What did you say to get rid of him so fast? I’ll have to use it sometime.”

Sam huffed and plopped back on the couch. “I asked him a question he didn’t want to answer,” he grumbled and left it at that. 

Sam went to bed shortly after that, but sleep was a long time coming. His mind just kept turning over possible connections between he and Gabriel. Everything from him being a vessel to destined to kill each other, destined to love each other, and a hundred other things in between. Each one more unlikely than the last. When he finally managed to fall asleep his dreams were haunted by amber eyes and smirking lips. 

When he woke up he went searching for Gabriel. He had to know. He just couldn’t let it go. He could push gently, but if Gabe wouldn’t tell him then Gabriel had to. Sam found Gabriel sitting quietly in the library reading a book and sat down next to him. “Good morning Gabriel. Did you sleep well?” he asked with a smile. Gabriel smiled back and nodded so Sam took a deep breath and decided to just plunge in headfirst. “So I know you don’t want to talk about and I’m sorry I have to ask but I really need to know what connection we have.”

“I-I don’t…I shouldn’t…you should ask Gabe,” he stammered. 

“I did. He won’t tell me. Please Gabriel,” Sam asked placing a hand on Gabriel’s arm. 

Gabriel gave a heavy sigh and looked down at the table as he whispered, “Soulmates.”

Sam blinked in shock for a moment. “Soulmates. Is this…are they…what does that mean?” 

“It…it mean…your soul and my grace are…connected…we…we can…only find true happiness with each other,” Gabriel said as his breath was speeding up and Sam could tell that he was on the verge of a panic attack. 

“Hey. It’s okay Gabriel. Just take deep breaths okay. I’m sorry I pushed. Really,” Sam said as he rubbed Gabriel’s back soothingly. He talked Gabriel through breathing and the archangel gradually calmed down. Sam was caught off guard when the next thing he knew, Gabriel was kissing him. 

Suddenly Gabriel jumped back, eyes wide, and started stammering, “I-I’m sorry…I shouldn’t have…I…”

His words were cut off as Sam got up and walked towards him and leaned down and kissed him, short and sweet. “Don’t be sorry,” he whispered before kissing the archangel again, deeper this time. Sam had one hand on Gabriel’s waist and the other cupping the side of his face, but there was plenty of distance between them. Sam had no idea what all Gabriel had been through and he would let Gabriel bridge that gap if he wanted to. Both of Gabriel’s hands were on Sam’s waist as he kissed the hunter back eagerly. 

About that time an icy voice came from the doorway. “Well I can see he’s in good hands so I’ll just be going now.”

It was Sam’s turn to jump back away from Gabriel as he said, “Gabe wait!” Gabe didn’t even pause in his steps as he headed out. Sam caught up to him in the living room and grabbed his arm and Gabe spun to look at him. 

Gabe knew that he was being childish. He knew that if anyone deserved a chance at happiness it was his counterpart, but he couldn’t deny the hurt he felt. If anyone should get Sam it should be him. He’s the one who cared. He’s the one who tried. He pushed all that back for the moment though as he addressed the hunter. “Look, Sam. It’s fine. I get it. I won’t begrudge him his happiness. I just can’t stick around and watch.”

Sam thought fast and started saying the first things that came to mind. All he knew was that he couldn’t let Gabe leave. Not now. “Maybe we can all be happy. I mean…he’s you and you’re him. You’re both my soulmates or something, so why can’t we all just…I don’t know,” Sam stepped back and ran a hand through his hair. He realized how stupid he sounded. 

“What, you want us both? I don’t need your pity Sam. You want him, I won’t stand in the way, but don’t try to humor me.”

“It’s not like that, Gabe. Please don’t make me choose. He’s so fragile and I don’t know how he would handle a heartbreak right now.”

“So you’re saying you would choose me? Come on. You don’t even like me,” Gabe said bitterly. 

“I was blind and stupid Gabe. Knowing what I do know…you’re the one who tried to save me. You risked everything, even your own chance at happiness, to try and protect me. You’ve given everything and never asked for anything in return. How could I not choose you?”

Gabe narrowed his eyes suspiciously at the hunter, trying to figure out if he was being truthful. “Don’t dump him yet. I’ll think about it,” he said grudgingly as he turned and stalked out the door.

Sam sighed and turned to head back to the library, bumping into Gabriel at the doorway. “You heard,” he guessed. 

Gabriel nodded. “I understand. You two have history. Good or bad. He’s the one that was meant for you. If he wants me to step aside, I will,” his voice broke a bit at the end, but he was standing strong. 

“And if he doesn’t?” Sam asked reaching up to cup Gabriel’s face. 

“Then I’ll take whatever role he will allow,” he said compliantly. 

“I won’t allow you to be second best,” Sam said softly. “We will all be equal or not at all,” he promised only to be engulfed in a hug by the small archangel. He held him close and rested his cheek on top of Gabriel’s head. “I do love you, you know. I love you both.”

Gabriel could bear to say it back only to be rejected later so he just lifted his head and kissed Sam again. He wouldn’t sleep with the hunter. Not unless they all got together. His counterpart deserved the first chance at that, but he was going to get as much kissing and cuddling in as he could before it got taken away, if it was going to be taken away.


	6. Chapter 6

Sam had, of course, told Dean what was going on in the strange love triangle he had with the two archangels and Dean wasn’t exactly happy about it, but promised not to make a fuss which was really the best Sam could have hoped for. Sam spent a great deal of time curled up on the couch with Gabriel, often punctuated with kisses, but they had gone no further than that. 

It was a few days later, Sam was puttering around the kitchen, making breakfast, while Gabriel was in the library and Sam suddenly found himself pinned against the wall being kissed senseless. It took a second for his brain to catch up and register what was going on before he wrapped his arms around Gabe and kissed him back eagerly. After a few minutes, Gabe pulled back and asked, a little breathlessly, “You really think we can make this work, the three of us?” 

“Yeah, Gabe. I do,” Sam said far more confidently than he felt. 

“And if we can’t?” 

“Then I stand by my choice,” Sam assured him. 

Gabe kissed him hard and fast one more time before he said, “Let’s go find the other me.”

They headed to the library and Gabriel jumped to his feet when he saw them enter. He knew that he was about to find out his fate. Sam was looking expectantly at Gabe too, unsure of what his choice was. “Ok here’s the thing. This isn’t going to work if we do it halfway. It can’t be Sam and me and Sam and you,” he told Gabriel. “We have to be in this together too.” 

Sam’s eyes widened as he figured out what Gabe was saying. Gabriel didn’t seem as surprised as Sam though as he just nodded in acceptance. “I had considered the same thing.”

“So you agree?” Gabe asked and Gabriel nodded. Gabe looked to Sam next and Sam nodded, still a little dazed at the thought. 

Sam collected himself after a moment and said, “This also isn’t going to work if we don’t have clear communication and boundaries and such.”

“What do you suggest?” Gabe asked curiously. 

“Well I love you both, and I would like time alone with both of you too, so how about one day a week I’m with you Gabe, then one day a week with Gabriel, then, assuming I understood you right, you can have one day a week together, and the rest of the time it’s the three of us,” Sam suggested. 

“I don’t know,” Gabe said distastefully. “That seems too…planned. Where’s the spontaneity?” 

“It doesn’t have to be planned. You can steal me away for a day whenever the mood strikes. It just can only be once a week,” Sam suggested. “There can be wiggle room, and it doesn’t have to be strict, we can work around it and make exceptions or whatever. I’m just saying as a base.”

Gabe got a thoughtful look on his face, and Gabriel looked at him hopefully. He would take what he could get, but this seemed like a good idea to him. After a few moments Gabe nodded and reached over to Gabriel and pulled him closer and kissed him. Gabriel leaned into it, just as eagerly and Sam felt his blood pooling in his groin as he watched them. 

After a few minutes Gabe pulled back and grinned. “I get him first though,” he said. “Unless you two have already…”

“No. We haven’t. And you won’t get any argument from me,” Gabriel told him. 

“We should all spend some time at my island while we work out the kinks. Think of it like a honeymoon. What do you say?” Gabe suggested and got nods all around. 

“Let me just go pack and let Dean know,” Sam said as he headed quickly from the room. He suddenly couldn’t wait to get there. 

“Clothes are optional!” Gabe called after him with a laugh. He turned back to Gabriel and grinned again. “I never imagined how hot it could be kissing myself.”

“Me either,” Gabriel said lips quirking threatening their own grin and Gabe pulled him back in for another kiss. They had to do something to pass the time while they waited for Sam after all. 

Sam was only gone for about five minutes. It didn’t take long to throw a bunch of stuff in a bag and tell Dean he was going to be gone for an unspecified period of time. He came back into the library to find Gabriel pinned against the wall by Gabe in a heated makeout session. Sam slid behind Gabe and kissed his neck as he murmured, “That is so damn hot.”

Gabe pulled back and made a sound of agreement as he said, “You ready to go?” 

“Mmhmm.” Sam didn’t remove his lips from Gabe’s neck, but his hands were on Gabriel’s hips, holding the three of them tightly together. 

Gabe hated to stop this, but if he didn’t then it wouldn’t. He let out a contented sigh before he pulled back completely, pushing Sam back with him and said, “Ok let’s head out then.”

Sam could only hope that Dean didn’t see them on the way out, all three sporting impressive erections and they rushed quickly to the street outside the bunker where Gabe could fly them from. They landed in a beautiful white living room and Gabe grabbed Sam’s hand and led him upstairs towards the bedroom. He had waited quite long enough to claim his mate. 

Sam understood the need for their first time to be just the two of them, but he still felt a little bad leaving Gabriel in the lurch like that. That thought, along with any others didn’t linger long though as he felt Gabe’s lips on his neck and his hands unbuttoning Sam’s shirt. Sam’s hands moved to Gabe’s ass and pulled him tightly against him, getting some much needed friction against both of their cocks. Gabe made short work of Sam’s shirt before pulling his own over his head and pushing Sam down on the bed and sliding on top of him, kissing him deeply as he ground his hips down over Sam’s. 

Sam’s hands quickly began fumbling with the button on Gabe’s pants and he managed to get them open and slide them down enough to get his hand around Gabe’s huge cock, pulling a moan from the archangel. Gabe divested Sam of his pants and kicked his own the rest of the way off moving his hand between them and sliding a slick finger into Sam’s tight hole, causing the hunter to arch up off the bed as Gabe went straight for the sweet spot. Gabe trailed his lips and tongue and teeth down Sam’s chest and stomach before taking the hunter in his mouth as the second finger pressed in. 

Sam’s hand tangled in Gabe’s hair as he thrust up into his warm mouth. When the third finger breached his entrance, Sam gasped out, “God…Gabe…please…”

Gabe pulled off Sam’s cock with a smirk, pumping three fingers in his tight ass, and said, “Please what Sammy?”

“Please…fuck me…in me…god…please…” 

Sam whimpered at the suddenly empty feeling as Gabe withdrew his fingers only to feel the head of Gabe’s large leaking cock pressing against him. Gabe was trying to go slow, but Sam had other ideas as his legs wrapped around Gabe and pulled him forward quickly and they both moaned. Gabe leaned down and kissed Sam deeply as he began rocking his hips, buried deep inside the hunter. “Fuck Sammy…so tight,” he murmured against Sam’s lips as he picked up speed. 

When Gabe canted his hips back, almost withdrawing all the way and then snapped them back forward, Sam cried out in pleasure and his hand tightened in Gabe’s hair, pulling his head back. “Oh…yes…Sam…” Gabe gasped as he repeated the action. Gabe definitely had a hair pulling kink, and a biting kink as Sam realized when he bit Gabe’s now exposed throat and Gabe picked up the pace, slamming hard and fast into the hunter as his hand reached down to pump Sam’s cock in time with his thrusts. 

Sam was throwing his hips up, fucking Gabe’s hand, which had the added bonus of pulling Gabe deeper with every thrust. “God…Gabe…harder…faster…” Sam gasped and Gabe complied. Sam moved the hand that wasn’t still pulling Gabe’s hair up to brace himself against the headboard as Gabe slammed into him harder and harder. 

“Oh…fuck…S-Sam…gonna…cum…Sam!” he cried out in ecstasy as he slammed hard and deep one last time, filling Sam’s ass with his cum and pushing Sam over the edge with him as the hunter spurted over Gabe’s hand crying out the archangel’s name. 

Gabe let his head fall forward and rested his forehead against Sam’s as they both caught their breath. He grinned and leaned forward and pressed a hard kiss to Sam’s lips as he snapped his fingers and cleaned them both up, sliding his softening dick slowly out of Sam and falling over, curling up to the hunter’s side. “I love you Samshine,” he whispered. 

“And I love you Gabe,” Sam said pressing a kiss to the archangel’s forehead as they just lay there in the blissful afterglow.


	7. Chapter 7

After a little while, Sam’s stomach growled and Gabe chuckled. “Sorry. I kinda interrupted you before you had breakfast didn’t I,” he said sheepishly. “How about brunch in bed?” Gabriel snapped and there was a tray in front of Sam filled with fresh fruits and oatmeal. He had been around often enough over the years to know that Sam liked to eat healthy. 

Sam blinked for a moment, realizing that he would have to get used to things appearing out of thin air now that he was in a relationship with Gabe. He grinned at the archangel and sat up so that he could eat. Gabe continued running his hands over his body while he ate though, as if he couldn’t believe that Sam was really here. He even grabbed a piece of fruit and fed the hunter from time to time and was always rewarded with a kiss. Sam couldn’t help but spend much of the meal watching Gabe. He had never actually seen the archangel happy before and it was radiant. “Is this the reason you always kept coming around after you were resurrected?” Sam asked. 

Gabriel snorted in amusement. “If you mean, did I expect you to ever fall for me, maybe the first time I came by. I foolishly thought that dying for you would earn me a little forgiveness for the past. After that though, I never dreamed that I could have this. I just wanted to be near you. Even if it did result in hate and vitriol being spewed my way.” Somehow Gabe had managed to keep the bitterness out of his voice, but then it was hard to be bitter when all your dreams had come true. 

Sam did feel bad though. They had been telling themselves all these years that Gabe deserved it. They had been holding onto old grudges, and only now could Sam see how much weight that had put on the archangel’s shoulders. “Well for what it’s worth, I’m glad we had that fight. I’m glad you forced me to open my eyes. I only wish you had done it sooner.”

Gabe grinned mischieviously. “You’re just glad because now you get double my awesomeness,” he joked. 

“You keep telling yourself that,” Sam chuckled and leaned over for a kiss, prompting Gabe to steal the strawberry from his mouth. “Hey! That was my strawberry,” Sam laughed. 

“Finders keepers,” Gabe said with a smug grin. Sam dipped his finger in the whipped cream and spread it on Gabe’s nose and Gabe leaned over and nuzzled the hunters neck, spreading the whipped cream to him. Before long they were both spotted with whipped cream, and then had a lot of fun licking it off each other. That round was followed by a shower, which resulted in another round, and then Sam was spent. They took the rest of the afternoon to just cuddle and talk. Some of Gabe’s stories were hilarious, and the archangel intentionally left out all mentions of his bloody and violent escapades of the past. Even the ones he had undertaken as a servant of heaven. 

They had dinner in bed as well, that didn’t result in a food fight this time, and a few hours later, made love one more time before Sam drifted off to sleep. Gabe didn’t leave his side the entire night, using his grace to keep the hunter asleep as he trailed his fingers over every line and muscle in the hunter’s body, marveling at the fact that this was his…finally. He and Gabriel would need to talk about bonding Sam to one of them, or preferably find a way to bond him to both of them, so that he could live forever with them. 

Sam was woken the next morning with a kiss from Gabe. He got up and got dressed, despite knowing that he wouldn’t be wearing clothes for very long once Gabriel got ahold of him. He headed downstairs to find Gabriel sitting on the couch watching television. He grinned at him and went over to sit next to him as Gabe headed outside to take a walk on the beach. “Sorry about leaving you high and dry yesterday,” Sam told him. 

“That’s okay. I understand,” Gabriel said with a smile and Sam leaned over to pull him into a kiss. 

“Do you wanna go upstairs or would you rather do something else?” Sam asked. It was easier with Gabe. Gabe was forward enough that you never had to guess what he was thinking or what he wanted, but Gabriel was still pretty fragile and not used to speaking his mind again yet. It boggled the mind how only fifteen years ago they were the same person. 

“Upstairs would be nice,” Gabriel said shyly and Sam grinned and got to his feet, pulling Gabriel along with him. 

Once they were in the bedroom, Sam kissed Gabriel again, pulling them tightly together. After a few minutes, he realized that something was a little off. “You seem nervous,” Sam questioned. 

“A-a little, but I’m okay.”

“We don’t have to…” Sam started. 

“No. I want to…just…”

Sam started to form a suspicion and he didn’t like it at all. “Tell me I didn’t…” he trailed off waiting for Gabriel to fill in the blanks. 

Gabriel looked away and nodded with tears in his eyes. “The other Dean too. But I want this, Sam. Really. I-I need it. Please.” He looked back at Sam with the last part willing the hunter to see his sincerity. 

“If you want to stop. At any point. No matter what. Just say the word okay?” Sam said firmly, wanting to make sure there was no misunderstanding on that point. 

“I will. I promise,” Gabriel assured him. 

Sam decided then and there to make it as slow and sweet and loving as he could manage and pulled Gabriel in for another kiss and laid them gently on the bed, settling next to Gabriel, leaning over him. He gave it a good while before he moved his hands to start unbuttoning Gabriel’s shirt. He moved slowly and trailed his lips lovingly over every inch of skin as it was exposed, whispering endearments all the while. Telling Gabriel how beautiful he was, how much he loved him, how perfect he was in every way. 

It seemed like forever before Sam got his shirt off, but Gabriel wasn’t complaining. He had pulled Sam’s tshirt over his head by the time he was halfway finished and was running his hands through Sam’s hair and over his back and shoulders. Sam took a little more time over Gabriel’s chest and stomach before he moved his hands to Gabriel’s pants and hesitated a moment, giving the archangel time to stop him if he wanted to. Gabriel didn’t though so Sam undid his pants and slid them and his boxers off before settling back over him. 

Sam licked a long stripe up the underside of Gabriel’s large cock, pulling a shuddered moan from the archangel, before he swirled his tongue around the tip and then swallowed him all the way down. Gabriel gasped as his hand tightened in Sam’s hair and he bucked his hips up into Sam’s warm mouth. After a moment Sam felt a tube of lube pressed into his hand and he took the hint. He slicked up his fingers and pressed one lightly against Gabriel’s entrance, feeling the archangel tense up for a moment, but then relax. Sam waited for him to relax before slipping his finger in. It took him a second to find the sweet spot but he knew he had it when Gabriel arched up off the bed with a moan. 

Sam hummed appreciatively around the cock in his mouth, and proceeded to stretch Gabriel out slowly. Once the archangel was ready, Sam pulled back and lined himself up before leaning forward and kissing Gabriel as he slid slowly inside. Once he was fully seated, he broke the kiss and leaned back far enough to get lost in Gabriel’s warm amber eyes. “I love you, Gabriel,” he whispered as he slowly began rocking his hips. 

“I love you, Sam. Always,” Gabriel whispered back. Sam had been well sated the day before so he had no problems keeping up the slow pace for a good long while, and Gabriel was just enjoying himself too much to rush him. All good things must come to an end eventually though and after a while, Sam started moving faster and faster as he reached down to stroke Gabriel in time with his thrusts. 

Sam could feel himself getting close and panted out, “C-come for me, Gabriel,” That was all it took to push Gabriel over the edge and pull Sam with him as they cried out each other’s names in unison. Sam stilled over Gabriel, using one hand to wipe his sweat damp hair from his forehead before resting his own forehead against it. 

“That was…perfect,” Gabriel whispered as his thumbs traced circles over Sam’s sides. 

“Yeah. It was.” After a moment, Sam pulled out of Gabriel and slid over to the side pulling Gabriel tightly against him. “You okay?” he asked. 

“I’m great.” Sam could hear the grin in his voice as he snuggled even tighter.


	8. Chapter 8

Sam and Gabriel just curled up next to each other for quite a while, before Sam’s stomach started growling again. Gabriel offered to snap up some food, but Sam had to tell him what he wanted. This Gabriel didn’t know him nearly as well as the other. After a relaxed brunch, Gabriel spoke up. “I was wondering…” he trailed off, unsure how to ask what he wanted to ask. 

“What is it Gabriel?” Sam asked softly. 

“I still haven’t had a chance to see much of this world. Maybe we could…” he let the sentence hang, waiting for Sam to fill in the blanks. 

“You’re saying you want to go out and explore?” Sam figured and got a nod from Gabriel. “Sure. We can do that. As long as you can provide the transportation,” Sam said with a grin. 

Gabriel snapped his fingers and they were both dressed again and standing just outside the white house. It made sense that Gabriel would want to see the center of his world first, to see how different it was. It wasn’t just that the white house was still standing either. The lack of fires burning, the humans bustling about their days, the lack of demons in the area, all of them were like a breath of fresh air to the archangel. 

Sam took Gabriel’s hand as they walked around and just took everything in. They ended up eating a late lunch right there in DC before Gabriel whisked them off somewhere else. He seemed to have taken a liking to big cities because now they were in Boston. They stayed there for a few hours before touring New York and then London. They had dinner at a small pub in London before heading back to the beach house and getting lost in each other again before Sam fell asleep. Like his counterpart, Gabriel didn’t leave his side while he slept. He too couldn’t believe that he finally had something so pure and perfect. He had spent so long lost in despair that this almost didn’t seem real. It still seemed like some wonderful dream that he would wake up from sooner or later. 

The next morning, they both went downstairs for breakfast, only to find that Gabe had beaten them to it. He had a full breakfast spread on the table, including lots of sweets for the two versions of the archangel and the healthy stuff that Sam liked. The three of them ate together before Gabe made a suggestion. “So I was thinking, since Sam sleeps and we don’t, we can have our time together while he’s sleeping rather than taking time away from him.”

Gabriel got a grin on his face. “That’s a great idea,” he agreed and they looked to Sam for his opinion.

Sam shrugged. He didn’t see why it should make a difference to him and he just said, “Works for me.”

That settled, after breakfast Gabe dragged them all upstairs and Sam said hopefully, “Maybe I could just watch you to for a bit?” Not only was it completely hot seeing them together, but Sam was a little spent after the last two days so he could use some time to get going. 

Gabe shrugged and pulled Gabriel in for a kiss, immediately pulling his counterparts shirt over his head and stripping out of his own. He grabbed Gabriel’s ass and pulled him tightly against them, pleased to see that they were both already hard and the friction between them pulled moans from them both. Before long Gabriel was falling to his knees in front of Gabe and unbuttoning his pants, freeing Gabe’s straining cock. Gabe had always wondered what it would be like to suck his own cock, and apparently Gabriel had too. Gabe would return the favor shortly though. 

As Sam watched Gabriel take Gabe’s length in his mouth his breath hitched. So much for needing some time. He was already rock hard, but he couldn’t take his eyes away from the spectacle in front of him. His hand found its way to his erection as he palmed himself through his shorts, while he watched Gabriel completely take Gabe apart. Gabe’s breath was coming in short pants as his hand was tangled in Gabriel’s hair and before long he was thrusting himself deeper and deeper down Gabriel’s throat. The archangel took it like a pro though and soon swallowed everything his counterpart had spilled. 

Gabe pulled Gabriel to his feet and lay him down on the bed, climbing on top of him, kissing him deeply and tasting himself in Gabriel’s mouth. He moved his lips and tongue and teeth down Gabriel’s neck and chest and stomach before reaching the prize and taking Gabriel in his mouth as well. Once Gabriel was good and incoherent Gabe slid a finger into his tight ass, going straight for the sweet spot and causing Gabriel to arch up off the bed and spill himself in Gabe’s mouth. Gabe greedily swallowed every drop before moving back up to kiss his counterpart again, keeping his finger moving in Gabriel’s ass. 

Sam’s hand was inside his shorts by now and he knew that he had to get in on the action now. He just couldn’t hold back anymore. He moved up behind Gabe and pressed his own finger into Gabe, pulling a moan from the archangel as he pressed himself back against it. Gabe managed to get Gabriel ready at the same time that he himself was ready and he lined himself up with Gabriel’s entrance and waited for Sam to get lined up as well. Sam thrust forward into Gabe, pushing Gabe forward into Gabriel and all three of them moaned in unison. 

Gabriel was rock hard again by this time and Sam reached around Gabe to take Gabriel’s cock in his hand. It took a minute for them to get a good rhythm going, but before long the three of them were all moving together and the only sounds heard were the needy whimpers and moans and the slapping of flesh against flesh. Gabriel was the first to blow, spurting over Sam’s hand and setting off a chain reaction, as the clenching around him pulled Gabe over the edge, which pulled Sam with him and they all collapsed in a heap on the bed. 

The maneuvered themselves so that Sam was lying in the middle with an archangel curled up to either side, their hands meeting over Sam’s stomach and both of Sam’s arms wrapped around them. They lay there blissfully for a good long while before Gabe leaned up and kissed Sam deeply. Gabriel, not to be outdone, pulled Sam in for a kiss as soon as Gabe was done with him. They spent the remainder of the time until lunch curled up in bed together, chatting and kissing and enjoying each other’s company. 

It was during this time that Gabe found out about what had happened to Gabriel in the other world; what the other Sam and Dean had done to him, and all the different ways they had hurt him. He quickly made a plan for that night, once Sam was asleep, knowing exactly what the other archangel would need and completely understanding why he wouldn’t take it from Sam, but Gabe wasn’t nearly as fragile as the human. 

They wandered out of bed for lunch and spent the afternoon on the beach, alternating between playing in the water and lounging in the extra large hammock. They had a cookout on the beach for dinner and after a few hours of watching first the sunset, then the stars, they headed back inside and Sam went to bed. Gabe pulled Gabriel into the next room and said, “Take me. And I like it rough.”

“I-I couldn’t…” Gabriel was worried that he would lose himself in it if he let himself cross that line. 

That was exactly what Gabe intended though. “You need to let go. You need to punish someone for what was done to you. It will help you move past it. So punish me. I can take it.”

It was like that flipped a switch in Gabriel’s brain and he snatched Gabe to him for a hard kiss before wrapping his hand in Gabe’s hair and snatching his head back roughly, placing sharp bites over the other archangel’s neck and throat, pulling a whimpering moan from Gabe. He took his free hand and pulled Gabe’s shirt open, snapping all the buttons off of it in the process, and pulled it roughly off his shoulders. “Oh…fuck…yeah…” Gabe panted, already driven crazy. It wasn’t nearly over yet though. 

Gabriel yanked Gabe to his knees by his hair at the same time he lowered his shorts and thrust himself quickly into Gabe’s mouth before he could even react. Gabe actually gagged for a split second before he corrected himself and set to work, letting Gabriel’s hand yank his head back and forth as Gabriel fucked his mouth furiously. 

After a few minutes, Gabriel spun him around and bent him over, lowering Gabe’s shorts as well, just enough to get access to his tight hole and Gabriel slammed himself inside with no lube and no preparation. He didn’t even give Gabe a chance to adjust before he was setting a brutal pace, pounding hard and fast and deep into Gabe. Gabe took a minute to get over the burn to feel the pleasure, but soon enough he was throwing his hips back to meet every thrust from his counterpart. Gabriel’s hand was still holding tightly to Gabriel’s hair, pulling his head back and giving him better leverage. Gabriel’s other hand was gripping tightly to Gabe’s hip, fingers digging into the flesh and leaving indentions from his fingernails. 

Gabriel had used his grace to pin Gabe’s hands above his head, not even allowing him to touch himself, but once Gabriel’s thrusts started becoming more frantic, he knew it wouldn’t matter. When Gabriel slammed hard and deep one last time and Gabe felt his hard cock pulsing inside him, filling him with his cum he gasped out, “Oh…god…yes…” as he reached his own release, completely untouched.


	9. Chapter 9

The three of them returned to the bunker after a week, kinks worked out and in a good place in their relationship. This lasted for about a month before Sam noticed that Gabriel was whisking him away much more often. He still got his one day a week with Gabe and they spent one or two days a week the three of them, but the rest of the time Gabriel would take off with him. Gabe was strangely accepting of the fact, and it’s not that Sam didn’t like spending time with Gabriel, but he was more confused than anything. He kept his mouth shut though and went along with it, just enjoying the moment. He did his best to make it up to Gabe during their day together though. 

This went on for about three weeks until one morning Sam woke up alone. It didn’t happen often, but often enough that it shouldn’t have made him nervous, but he couldn’t ignore that icy fear in his stomach. He padded to the kitchen to find Gabe sitting at the table waiting for him and the archangel’s face fell when he saw that Sam was alone. “It’s finally happened then,” he said sadly, pushing his sundae away. 

The icy feeling Sam had been experiencing just increased. Anything that could turn Gabe away from food couldn’t be good, and it seemed like it was something he’d been expecting. “What? What happened?” Sam asked nervously. 

“He’s been pulled home,” Gabe murmured before taking a deep shaky breath. He knew that Sam would need more explanation than that. “It’s the universe correcting itself. When it didn’t happen in the first few days I thought we were in the clear, but he told me a few weeks ago that he could feel his hold on this world weakening.”

“That’s why he’s been taking so much time with me,” Sam gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked accusingly. 

“He didn’t want to, and I couldn’t deny him that. He didn’t want his remaining time to be filled with sadness and regret,” Gabe told him. “We couldn’t pinpoint exactly when it would happen or he would have said goodbye.” Gabe slid an envelope across the table. “He left this for you.”

Sam opened the letter with shaky fingers and read it with tears in his eyes. 

My Dearest Sammy,  
Thank you so much for everything. You’ve given me a gift I could never repay. I had thought that happiness was forever out of reach, but you proved me wrong, first by bringing me into your world and then by loving me. If you’re reading this then I’m back in my own world now, but don’t worry about me. I can let go now. I know what I need to do and finally have the strength to do it thanks to you.   
Take good care of Gabe. He won’t be taking this very well either, but he’ll try to hide it for your sake. Don’t let him. He doesn’t like asking for help or showing weakness as I’m sure you know, so you’ll have to make him. Just remember I’m not really gone. I’m still a part of him, just as he’s a part of me. Take comfort in each other and most importantly, be happy. Both of you. I love you so much my sweet Samshine.   
-Gabriel

By the time Sam finished reading the letter he had streams of tears running down his cheeks and he let the letter flutter to the table. He reached out and grabbed Gabe’s arm, hauling him to his feet and pulling him into a tight hug. “Could we…get him back…maybe?” Sam asked hopefully. 

“No. If it worked at all it would just pull him back again right away. We took the universe out of balance and now that it’s corrected itself, it’s still too fragile to try again. He won’t be there anyway,” Gabe tried to hold back his own tears. 

“Why won’t he be there. Where will he be?” Gabe didn’t answer. “Gabe?” he asked desperately. 

“He…had a plan,” Gabe said tentatively. 

 

Meanwhile in Gabriel’s world:

Gabriel punched through the wards around the castle with ease. They were like soft butter to something as powerful as he was. He had a job to do. One he should have done years ago, if he hadn’t been such a coward. He could die happy now. He made sure both the emperor and his brother were in the throne room before appearing in front of them and stabbing his archangel blade into his chest. He had bundled up all of his power as tightly as he could and the resulting shock wave should take out a few square miles and everything within it, demons and almost demons included. 

None of those in attendance had a chance to react as the light burst out from the archangel and they were blasted into nothingness. He had felt bad for all the human slaves that had gotten caught in the blast, but he had taken out all of the demonic leadership. Those remaining would have a fighting chance now. 

 

An hour later, Sam and Gabe appeared in what used to be the courtyard of the castle, but was now part of a large blast crater. Sam fell to his knees sobbing and Gabe knelt in front of him and pulled him close. After a few minutes Sam’s sobs had turned to sniffles. “There’s…nothing you can do?” 

Gabe thought for a minute. “Nothing for him, but maybe for this world. Make sure his sacrifice wasn’t in vain.”

“I want to help,” Sam said firmly. If that’s all he could do for Gabriel, then that’s what he would do. 

Gabe knew that there wasn’t actually anything that Sam could do, but maybe being along for the ride would be enough. “Come on,” Gabe said. “I won’t be able to materialize myself here for very long so we have to work fast. Gabe flew to the largest human pen nearby and hastily thrust a paper into someone’s hand and said, “Exorcism.” He repeated the process a few dozen times, spreading it out, only hitting the largest group in each city, knowing that his time was limited and hopefully they would spread the word and help others once they were free. 

They popped from country to country all over the world and managed to get the exorcism to about eighty different groups before he and Sam were dumped unceremoniously back on the street outside the bunker where they had left from. “That’s it? That’s all we can do?” Sam asked disappointedly. 

“Unfortunately. It’s in their hands now. They have a chance. That’s the best we can hope for. Gabriel took out the leadership and we gave them the tools to take the world back. It’s up to them now,” Gabe said sadly. 

“I-I just can’t…can’t believe he’s gone. I thought…” Sam trailed off. Unable to put it into words. 

“I know.” Gabe put a hand on his shoulder. “Me too Sammy.”

“At least you had some time to prepare,” Sam said disgruntled. He didn’t really hold it against Gabe. It was essentially Gabriel’s dying wish. Sam couldn’t say that he wouldn’t have done the same thing. He couldn’t bring himself to hold it against Gabriel either. Not now. But that didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. 

“I don’t know which of us has it harder,” Gabe admitted. “Knowing that every day with him may be the last was a burden that I’m glad you didn’t have to share.”

“I could have said more. I could have done more. I could have made sure he knew…” Sam choked up and couldn’t finish. 

“He knew, Samshine. You said and did all you needed to and then some. He never once doubted your feelings…or mine. He died happy, on his own terms, to save the world. We couldn’t ask for more.” Gabe had kept them moving into the bunker during the conversation, not wanting them to break down out in the open. He was glad that Dean was out on a hunt right now and they had the place to themselves for at least a few more days. 

Sam collapsed onto the couch, pulling Gabe with him and held him tightly. “How…how do we…go on now?” 

“One day at a time Samshine. At least we still have each other,” Gabe said kissing Sam slowly pouring as much comfort and love into the gesture as he could.


End file.
